The full-length chamber opera Chang’E and the Moon, inspired by elements of
Chinese literary, philosophical and musical culture, is a retelling of the myth
surrounding the Chinese Goddess of the Moon and the Mid-Autumn Festival. This
thesis consists of the opera, a recording of its performance; and a written
exegesis examining its contextual background and compositional process.
This exegesis examines the musical and structural elements of the work in a
wide-ranging discussion about opera as a musically hybrid art form. It highlights
the use of techniques gleaned from an analysis of the historical development of
Western opera. Other unique narrative and structural features were also
employed in the search for a musically and dramatically unified work which
serves the singular demands of music for theatre.
Chang’E and the Moon’s cultural elements are explored within the context of the
problems of Orientalism and appropriation in Western music, with a particular
focus upon the artist’s role and responsibilities. The cultural rewards and
challenges of such a project are re-examined through the more positivist prisms
of artistic homage and cross-cultural exchange.

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